The Dynamic of Religious Pluralism and Cultural Identity in Rongmei Naga (Kabui) Society

The Rongmei Naga (Kabui) society stand at a crucial juncture of cultural negotiation between Rongmei Christian and Rongmei Indigenous Faiths (Kabui) on their cultural authenticity and legitimacy. This intricated dialectic on culture by both the community reflect religious pluralism and manifest a profound societal dynamism over cultural identity. Through comprehensive synthesizing of secondary material, the paper accentuates how religious pluralism precipitate cultural identity tension and identity crisis. And it argues this is not to be seen as destructive fragmentation but a process of cultural reconfiguration. Nevertheless, this cultural contestation within the communities of Rongmei Nagas (Kabui) should be mutually resolved through inter-faith dialogue, as cultural identity transcends religious demarcation and holistically belong to the collective consciousness of the society.

Rongmei (Kabui), Religious Pluralism, Cultural Identity, Societal Dynamic

1. ⦁ Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and symbolic power. Harvard University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. ⦁ Grierson, G. A. (1987). Languages of North-Eastern India. Gyan Publishing House. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA01435705 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. ⦁ The Gazette of India, The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Act, 2012 (No. 2 of 2012), (9th January 2012, New Delhi). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. ⦁ Kamei, Gangmumei. (2004). The History of Zelinagrong Nagas from Makhel to Rani Gaidinliu. Delhi: Spectrum Publication. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. ⦁ Hodson, T.C. (1911). The Nagas Tribes of Manipur. London: Macmillan and Co., Limited. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. ⦁ Desai, A.R. (1978). “Tribes in Transition”, in A.R. Desai (ed.): “Rural Sociology in India”. Bombay: Popular Prakashan. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. ⦁ Longhofer, W., Winchester, D., & Baiocchi, A. (2016). Social Theory Re-Wired: New Connections to Classical and Contemporary Perspectives. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. ⦁ Longkumer, A. (2008). Where Do I Belong?: Evolving Reform and Identity Amongst the Zeme Heraka of North Cachar Hills, Assam, India. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. ⦁ Robbins, D. (2005). The origins, early development and status of Bourdieu's concept of ‘cultural capital’. The British journal of sociology, 56(1), 13-30. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. ⦁ Scott, J. C. (1990). Domination and the arts of resistance: Hidden transcripts. Yale university press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. ⦁ Gramsci, A. (2020). Selections from the prison notebooks. In The applied theatre reader (pp. 141-142). Routledge. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. ⦁ Edles, Laura Desfor. (2002). Cultural Sociology in Practice. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. ⦁ Tylor, E. B. (1871). Primitive culture: researches into the development of mythology, philosophy, religion, art, and custom (Vol. 2). J. Murray. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. ⦁ Hodson, T.C. (1911). The Nagas Tribes of Manipur. London: Macmillan and Co., Limited. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. ⦁ Devi, Kh. Manglembi. (2007). A study of the traditional subsistence pattern of the Kabuis and its relationship with the prehistoric cultures of Manipur. Manipur University Canchipur Imphal: 795 003. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. ⦁ Kamei, Aphun. (2008). The Kabui Nagas of Manipur: A Study of Identity and Identity Crisis. Centre for the study of social system school of social sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. ⦁ Bower, Ursula Graham. (1954). Naga Path. Guwahati Delhi: Spectrum publication. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. ⦁ Jangailu, Gangmei. (2013). The customary laws and practices of Ruangmei (Kabui) in Manipur. Department of history, Manipur University, Canchipur- Imphal. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. ⦁ Geertz, C. (1973). Chapter 1/Thick Description: Toward an interpretive theory of culture. The interpretation of cultures: Selected essays, 3-30. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. ⦁ Kamei, A. L. (2013). Adaptation, Change and Continuity: The Case of the Rongmei Indigenous Religion. Journal of North East India Studies, 3(1), 31-40. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. ⦁ Berger, P., & Luckmann, T. (2016). The social construction of reality. In Social theory re-wired (pp. 110-122). Routledge. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. ⦁ Weber, M. (2019). Economy and society. In Harvard University Press eBooks. https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674240827 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. ⦁ Habermas, J. (1987). The Theory of Communicative Action, vols. McCarthy (Transl.). Boston: Beacon Hill. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. ⦁ Pratt, D. (2010). The Church and other faiths: The World Council of Churches, the Vatican, and interreligious dialogue (Vol. 906). Peter Lang. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. ⦁ Gusha, I. S. (2022). KAICIID: An Emerging Significant Player in Global Interfaith and Development Initiatives. In Interfaith Networks and Development: Case Studies from Africa (pp. 65-80). Cham: Springer International Publishing. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. ⦁ Beteilie, Andre. (2002). Sociology Essays on Approach and Method. Oxford: Oxford University press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. ⦁ Giddens, A. (2013). In defence of sociology: essays, interpretations and rejoinders. John Wiley & Sons. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]